The
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight is set to take on
Guilherme
Pat at
UFC Vegas 120 on Aug. 8 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. Asplund is
coming off a loss to Vitor
Petrino in his sophomore UFC outing this past March and has
left no stone unturned in preparation this time around.

Steven Asplund explains how his Vitor Petrino loss changed his
UFC training approach

Asplund admits that losses feel like the end of the world to him.
“Concrete†vowed to himself after his last defeat that he would
never have to question himself again about giving maximum effort in
preparation. The 28-year-old recently revealed that he has invested
in a home gym so he can be in better shape for his upcoming
bout.

“This time I have invested in myself,†Asplund said in a recent
interview. “I bought a home gym, I put a ton of dumbbells in my
garage, an Airdyne bike and squat rack… I never want to feel that
way again. These losses feel like death to me. I don't show my face
after a loss… This sh*t is like death. I don't just want to win. I
want to be champion someday. I dwelled on it, I thought about it a
lot and I came to an understanding and I made an agreement with
myself that I'm never going to ask myself if I could have done more
before I fight again. This fight I know I could not… I have done
everything I can.â€

Both Asplund and Pat are 1-1 in the UFC coming off losses. The
former is eager to make quick work of his Brazilian counterpart and
return to the win column.

“I'm going for a first-round KO. Heavy pace, lots of strength,
heavy elbows, swarm him.â€

Ruffy will face his biggest step up in competition in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship when he squares off against
Tsarukyan at UFC 331
on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The Brazilian
believes a win over Tsarukyan warrants a title shot next.

Mauricio Ruffy believes a UFC 331 win over Arman Tsarukyan
could earn him a lightweight title opportunity

Ruffy claims he isn't feeling any pressure following the
announcement of the lightweight booking and vows to hunt for a
knockout win over “Ahalkalakets†in the UFC 331 co-headliner. As he
did with his last bout, Ruffy's training camp will soon commence in
Australia under the guidance of Alexander
Volkanovski.

“Winning this fight takes us straight to the title,†Ruffy said on
his Instagram Stories in Portuguese. “And that's it; let's go and
give it our all. I don’t feel pressure at all. I feel privileged,
very grateful to God for all this. I’m going there for the
knockout… I don’t want to leave the octagon without that result.
I'm leaving now. I'm going to Australia to do the full camp
there.â€

Ruffy (14-2) has finished five of his six UFC wins so far and has
only lost to Benoit St.
Denis inside the Octagon. The 30-year-old is coming off
finishes over Rafael
Fiziev and Michael
Chandler. Meanwhile, Tsarukyan is on a five-fight win streak,
10-2 in the UFC and finished Dan Hooker in
his last bout.

mateusz_gamrot on Instagram

UFC veteran Mateusz Gamrot has given his thoughts on the hype train that is Quillan Salkilld ahead of UFC Vegas 120.

This weekend, Quillan Salkilld will attempt to continue his meteoric rise in the Ultimate Fighting Championship when he goes head to head with Mateusz Gamrot, a fighter who has been up against some incredibly tough opponents throughout his run with the promotion.

RELATED: Paddy Pimblett says Mateusz Gamrot is irrelevant in UFC lightweight division, ‘Gamer' delivers fiery response

Gamrot has been through his fair share of ups and downs during his tenure with the UFC, but even with that being the case, he's still a big test, especially for someone like Salkilld, who has a lot of momentum behind him right now.

In a recent interview, Gamrot had the following to say about Salkilld.

Gamrot discusses Salkilld's hype

“I feel like world champ, brother,†Gamrot told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday's UFC Fight Night 284 media day. “I have nice number in the ranking and everyone wants to take my number. I understand this position. OK. I invite you to cage. Let's fight. I'm happy to fight against Quillan because his style is perfect for me.â€

“He's a dangerous kid,†Gamrot said. “He's tall, young. He looks strong. Kick-heavy style. I need to be careful. But I love when he try taking people to the ground. He's used some wrestling stuff. I hope he's going to keep the same strategy for me because there's going to be lots of scrambles and non-stop action. I love when people try to take me down to the ground. There's a lot of hype around him, but to be honest, I don't care. I know what I bring to the table.â€

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Who are you backing to pick up the win in this fight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!

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